Partially sighted Harrogate man says it’s ‘shameful’ that many crossings don’t beep

A partially sighted Harrogate man has said it’s ‘shameful’ that many pedestrian crossings in Harrogate town centre do not make a beeping noise to let blind or visually impaired people know it is safe to cross.

John Raho, 80, relies on the noise to help him cross the road safely when vehicles stop and the green man appears.

But from the top of Cheltenham Parade up Station Parade and to the Victoria Avenue junction, 9 out of 10 crossings did not make any noise at all when the Stray Ferret tested them yesterday.

Similarly, the crossing by the Odeon cinema does not make a beeping noise.

Mr Raho said:

“I rely on the beep as a reassurance but I noticed that so many of them are not working.

“They are an essential bit of kit. It’s not big science.”

This crossing on Station Parade does not currently make a beeping noise.

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North Yorkshire County Council, which is in charge of highways in the district, is not legally obliged to add beeping noises to pedestrian crossings.

To avoid confusion, it might not have two machines beeping that are close together.

Some crossings may also have a small plastic or metal cone that can be touched. It turns when the green man lights up to indicate it is safe to cross.

This pelican crossing is the only one that beeps on Station Parade.

‘A reassurance’

However, Mr Raho said the beeping noise should be essential to improve town centre access for visually impaired people.

He said:

“It’s a reassurance for me, for others with worse eyesight it’s absolutely essential. You have to be careful.”

Mr Raho said he can just about make out a blurry green man on the other side of the road, but without a sound to guide him, he tries to take his cue from other people.

“It’s alright if other people are crossing, but people do rush across the road. 

“If someone gets knocked down, then it is bad news.”

A North Yorkshire County Council spokesperson asked Mr Raho to report any machines that are not working correctly via its website. They added that until he did so it was unable to comment.

Ex-chairman of Starbeck Bowling Club admits stealing £3,334

The former chairman of Starbeck Bowling Club has pleaded guilty to stealing more than £3,000 from the organisation.

Donald Palmer, 70, of Eleanor Drive, Harrogate, volunteered to carry out work on footpaths at the club in 2019.

He was given multiple signed, blank cheques to buy materials but used them for his own benefit.

At Harrogate Magistrates Court yesterday, Palmer admitted stealing £3,334 between November 15 and December 13, 2019.

He was ordered to pay back the sum at a rate of £140 a month and escaped further punishment.

Solicitor David Dedman, representing Palmer, said his client had taken “advantage” of the club’s trust and was sorry for his actions. He said:

“This is a tricky case for a number of reasons. Mr Palmer voluntarily did the works at the club. He agrees he took the money, he was given blank, signed cheques and took advantage of this. The club benefitted and lost as a result of his actions.

“He is 70, has never been in trouble and lives off his state pension. I would ask we deal with this here rather than going to crown court.”

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Magistrate Christopher Harrison agreed it was difficult to reach a verdict. He told Pamler:

“We’ve taken into account your guilty plea, good character and that you have no criminal history and the probability of you troubling a court again is unlikely. We are going to give you a compensation order to pay the £3,334.51 back to the club.”

‘A shame it came to this’

Club secretary Steve Day told the Stray Ferret after the hearing he noticed funds had “dwindled” when he received a bank statement.

He said when the money wasn’t reimbursed, the club decided to take action.

Mr Day added:

“We are pleased it has been resolved, it was just a shame it had to come to this. Mr Palmer was chairman and first team captain and was always very supportive of the club.”

The club, situated next to Starbeck Baths, dates back to 1920 and has eight league teams.

Charity seeks volunteers to care for dogs in Harrogate district

A charity is seeking dog lovers to help look after pets across the Harrogate district.

The Cinnamon Trust matches walkers and foster carers to owners who are no longer able to care for their pets alone.

They may be elderly or undergoing medical treatment which prevents them from going out for walks each day. In some cases, the owner may be moving into a care home or facing the end of their life and looking for someone to look after their pet in the long term.

Mandy Scott, appeals coordinator at the trust, said:

“We need more volunteers in the Harrogate area. We’ve got seven volunteers already. There are three long-term foster pets, and across Yorkshire there are 114 pets with 795 volunteers.”

The charity, which was founded in 1985, matches each pet and owner with a team of volunteers. This means there is less pressure on a volunteer to walk a dog every day and there is always cover if anyone is unwell or goes on holiday.

Flexible arrangement

Volunteers can give as much or as little time as they are able, even down to a single half-hour or hour long walk each week, and Ms Scott said the trust recognises that people’s availability can change over time.

When an owner dies or moves into a care home and can’t take their pet, a long-term foster place is found among the volunteers. The trust keeps in touch with all foster carers and helps to coordinate any vet treatment required. Pets which are older and need more care can be rehomed at one of the charity’s two sanctuaries in the south-west, where they receive 24-hour care.

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Volunteer walkers range from teenagers completing their Duke of Edinburgh awards – with support from a parent – to people in their 80s who are still active. Each is checked via references from people who have known them over many years.

Ms Scott added:

“It’s about their experience, their empathy with the older generation, their experience with animals and how they will manage in a crisis. We ask them to complete a form and they can elaborate if they want to – you get a good feel for people that way.”

Once matched, owners are slowly introduced to volunteers, who use ID badges when meeting them in person to give reassurance that they are sent by the Cinnamon Trust. The process of finding the right volunteers after a request for help can be onerous, but Ms Scott said it is worth it to give someone peace of mind.

“It’s an absolute privilege to be able to say you’ve got that extra help, you can close the appeal. You talk to an owner and they say, ‘once I had spoken to you, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders’.

“We do what it says on the tin. We provide that extra help and reassurance.”

For more information about volunteering with The Cinnamon Trust, click here.

Ex-Leeds United player fined by Harrogate magistrates for speeding

Former Leeds United midfielder Ronaldo Vieira has been fined by magistrates in Harrogate for speeding.

Vieira, 23, who was sold by Leeds to Sampdoria in 2018, was caught speeding on the A1237 near Rufforth on July 13 last year.

He was fined £250 by Harrogate Magistrates Court and ordered to pay a £34 surcharge and £90 court costs.

The case was dealt with in his absence.

Vieira currently plays for Sampdoria in the Italian Serie A league and has made 26 appearances for the club.

He was sold to the Italian side for £7.7 million in August 2018.

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Covid testing sites in Harrogate district to close next week

Covid testing sites across North Yorkshire, including on Tower Street in Harrogate and Ripon’s coach park, will be closed next week.

As free testing comes to an end from Friday, April 1, the last day for the testing sites to operate will be Wednesday, March 30, North Yorkshire County Council‘s Outbreak Management Advisory Board heard today.

Cllr Michael Harrison, the county council’s executive member for adult services and health integration, asked whether testing would still be made available for care homes and other key groups, such as schools, but was told an announcement on this had not been made yet. There was also no information about any free testing for care and education settings.

Public health consultant Victoria Turner said:

“I think it’s fair to say that is the one we are going to be looking at most closely. We are expecting care guidance coming out next week as well on this.

“From what was said in February we expect there to be some symptomatic testing remaining for care home staff but that’s about as detailed a picture as we get at the moment. Care homes are going to be the one area we still have a particular focus on from April 1.

“We are still seeing quite a lot of outbreaks in care settings, or rather whenever there’s a high degree of community transmission there’s an inevitability that that does affect care settings as well.

“We were hoping that we could have done some of that planning before April 1 but unfortunately the guidance just isn’t out yet.”

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The outbreak management advisory board, which was set up to recommend on the county’s covid response and communications, has also been stood down. It had been meeting monthly but members agreed there was little need to continue as national restrictions were removed.

However, the group said it will remain in abeyance, rather than being disbanded, so it can be brought back into action if required, such as with the emergence of a new variant.

Infection rate almost trebles this month

At present, cases are still rising, though at a slower rate than previously.

The Harrogate district’s infection rate, which was 343 per 100,000 people at the start of the month, is now at 923.

Hospitalisations are also rising at a slower rate, with 30 patients with covid currently being treated at Harrogate District Hospital.

Deaths among people who have tested positive for covid within the last 28 days remain steady, at an average of one each day across North Yorkshire.

Richard Webb, corporate director of health and adult services, said:

“Many of us are continuing to work on the impact of acute and long-term covid in many different ways.”

Meanwhile, covid vaccination centres are preparing to begin giving spring booster jabs to over-75s, and vulnerable children aged between five and 11 in the county are now being given their first doses.

Highways chief orders study into Harrogate’s Prince of Wales roundabout crossing

North Yorkshire County Council is to look into installing a zebra crossing at the Prince of Wales roundabout in Harrogate.

Cllr Don Mackenzie, executive county councillor for highways, has ordered council officers to conduct a feasibility study into creating an uncontrolled crossing on the exit at York Place. ‘Uncontrolled’ means there wouldn’t be any traffic lights.

The move comes after Malcolm Margolis, a local environment campaigner, posted a video on social media showing people struggling to cross the roundabout due to the volume of oncoming cars.

Mr Margolis said the crossing was “unsafe by design” and left people having to wait for cars to let them cross the road.

He said:

“They [pedestrians] either have to wait – and wait – for a decent gap in the traffic or, as here, rely on the kindness of drivers holding up traffic behind them while they make a run for it.”

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Cllr Mackenzie told the Stray Ferret a study will be prepared to look at the viability of a zebra crossing on the site.

He ruled out a traffic light crossing as this would see “cars stuck on the roundabout”.

Prince of Wales roundabout #Harrogate. Unsafe for pedestrians by design. They either have to wait – and wait – for a decent gap in the traffic or, as here, rely on the kindness of drivers holding up traffic behind them while they make a run for it. Zebra crossing essential. pic.twitter.com/rbwTlmUxaJ

— Malcolm Margolis BEM (@MalcolmMargolis) March 23, 2022

Cllr Mackenzie, who is due to step down from the county council at the May elections, said crossing at the Prince of Wales roundabout had been an issue for “many years”.

Cllr Don Mackenzie

He said:

“This has been something that has been existing for many years and we think the time has come that this needs to be looked at afresh.

“I have often heard people say that this is a difficult road to cross and you have to rely on the politeness of drivers.”

A study will now be drawn up by county council officials and brought before either Cllr Mackenzie or his successor as county councillor for highways.

Two men face charges after fight outside Harrogate McDonald’s

Two men have appeared in court to face charges after a fight outside McDonald’s in Harrogate town centre.

Joshua Archer, 18, of Kingsley Close, Harrogate, and Tyler Rushton, 19, of Century Walk, Harrogate, are charged with affray and inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent against a man.

The alleged offences occurred outside the McDonald’s on Cambridge Road, on September 18 last year.

The two men appeared before Harrogate Magistrates Court yesterday to confirm their names and ages.

Neither man indicated a plea before the magistrates.

Mr Archer and Mr Rushton will appear before York Crown Court on April 19 where the case will continue.

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New marketing agency launches in Harrogate

New marketing agency launches in Harrogate

A new marketing agency called Next Chapter has launched in Harrogate.

Charlie Hartley, founder of creative agency Impression, set-up the company. Working alongside marketer Daniel Swepson, the agency will offer market and consumer research, strategy, digital advertising, search engine optimisation, content strategy and social media.

Mr Hartley said:

“We shall be delivering more advanced services within strategy, digital marketing and SEO and Daniel’s experience aligns perfectly with this vision.”

Mr Swepson said:

“We’re both clear in our vision and intend to do things differently from other agencies. From the start we shall enable brands to challenge and disrupt. Our strategies are bespoke and aim to break the mould, pushing our clients to lead the way in their sector.”

Chartered surveyors help Harrogate charity expand

Yorks Cancer Research / Carter Towler Max Vause Tony Graham

Max Vause, of Carter Towler (left) and Tony Graham of Yorkshire Cancer Research.

Chartered surveyor Carter Towler is to help a Harrogate charity expand its network of shops.

Yorkshire Cancer Research currently has shops in Ripon, Knaresborough, Tadcaster and Northallerton. Carter Towler has been tasked to find five suitable retail units per year for the next three years.

Tony Graham, head of retail at Yorkshire Cancer Research, added:

“By having Carter Towler working with us we will be able us to scale-up our retail operations quickly and efficiently. By 2025 we are aiming to have 20 outlets.”

Leeds-based Carter Towler is one of the largest independent property consultants in the north, with 55 staff.

Linley & Simpson staff fundraise for charity partners

Linley and Simpson

Linley & Simpson’s Aydin Arslan, Kerry Ferguson and Greg Smallwood.

Staff at Harrogate estate agency Linley & Simpson are embarking on the National Three Peaks Challenge to raise funds for a young people’s hospice.

A dozen employees, including property manager Aydin Arslan, branch manager Kerry Ferguson and land and development consultant Greg Smallwood will bid to scale the summits of the highest mountains in England, Scotland and Wales – all within 24 hours in June.

The challenge forms the centrepiece of the company’s pledge to raise £25,000 for Martin House Children’s Hospice, at Boston Spa, as part of its 25th anniversary year.

Linley & Simpson, which has more than 20 branches across Yorkshire and The Humber, has raised more than £100,000 for the hospice since their partnership began six years ago.

 

Harrogate Spring Water: New details about how council makes money from bottled water plant

New details have emerged about Harrogate Spring Water’s rental agreements with the borough council, as the company has still yet to reveal latest expansion plans for its bottled water plant.

After being refused permission to expand onto Rotary Wood in January 2021, the company said it would submit new plans “in the coming weeks”.

But eight months on after that statement last July, there is still no sign of another planning application from the firm which faced a backlash from campaigners, residents and councillors after having its proposals recommended for approval by Harrogate Borough Council.

The council has now revealed new details of a turnover-based rent agreement that it has had with Harrogate Spring Water since the company first opened its Harlow Hill site in 2002.

In response to a Freedom of Information request, the council refused to say how much money it has received as the details are deemed to be of “commercial value”.

But it did disclose for the first time that it receives 0.5% of Harrogate Spring Water’s annual turnover.

And when calculated using the company’s turnover figures, the Local Democracy Reporting Service has found that the council has received an estimated £853,033 over an 18-year period.

This is on top of an annual base rent which was initially agreed at £10,000 in 2002 and has since climbed to £15,232 following a review every five years.

Harrogate Spring Water

Aerial view of Harrogate Spring Water. Pic: Pinewoods Conservation Group

Conflict of interest questions

These financial benefits for the council have previously raised questions over a potential conflict of interest in its decision-making for Harrogate Spring Water’s expansion plans.

But the council has repeatedly said there is no such risk and that it has followed the correct procedures when dealing with the proposals.

A council spokesperson said:

“As we’ve said numerous times, there is no conflict of interest.

“Land/site ownership is not a material consideration when an application is considered.

“It is normal practice for planning authorities to take decisions on planning applications relating to land in its own ownership.

“There are no requirements nationally for a planning application – whether it is on council-owned land or not – to be determined by another local planning authority or other mechanism.”

The council also confirmed it has no other turnover-based rent agreements with any other of its tenants.

And it said the rent from Harrogate Spring Water is used to “deliver valuable front-line services across the Harrogate district.”

125-year lease

This comes as emails obtained in a separate Freedom of Information request show the council has said it would consider selling Rotary Wood to Harrogate Spring Water.

The site is subject to a 125-year lease which is reportedly worth £1.13 million.

When the council recommended the company’s expansion plans for approval last year, it said there were “significant economic benefits of the proposed development, including job creation, other financial benefits to the district and the enhancement of the Harrogate brand.”

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But this was not a view shared by campaigners who argued that in the face of a climate emergency, it was vital that the council preserved green spaces and not replaced them with a larger factory producing plastic bottled water.

This argument was backed by members of the council’s own planning committee who accused the authority of putting “profit and plastic before impact on the environment”.

Harrogate Spring Water was first granted outline planning permission to expand its bottling site onto Rotary Wood – which was planted by children and forms part of the 40-hectare Pinewoods forest – in 2017.

Two years later, the company submitted a revised application that was 40% larger than the one originally approved, but then failed to win full permission.

In a new statement issued this week, Harrogate Spring Water said it is currently “evaluating its plans” but did not hint at when its latest proposals could be revealed.

The company also said it is “committed to working with the public” and “will continue to keep people engaged and informed as part of the process”.

Rotary Wood plans

Pinewoods Conservation Group – the charity responsible for the conservation of the Pinewoods forest – has been at the forefront of the objections to the company’s expansion over Rotary Wood.

The charity said there have been “no proactive discussions” from Harrogate Spring Water over its latest plans which it said should be scrapped altogether.

A charity spokesperson said:

“With each year that passes the Rotary Wood area of the Pinewoods becomes a more mature woodland with increasing bird and plant life, improving the biodiversity of the area and improving air quality.

“The continued delays are however now impacting on any future plans for that area of the Pinewoods. We know, for example, that footpath works are much needed but are reluctant to potentially waste limited charity funds.

“We hope that with continued public pressure on unsustainable businesses such as Harrogate Spring Water, and this community site specifically, that any expansion plans are now abandoned.”

Transport assessment for 181 homes at Kingsley Drive ‘fundamentally flawed’

A transport assessment that suggests Persimmon Homes’ 181-home development on Kingsley Drive will not significantly increase traffic in the area has been called ‘fundamentally flawed’ by a Harrogate building surveyor.

The housebuilder submitted its latest proposal for the site this month after a larger development for 217 homes was rejected by councillors last year.

Persimmon commissioned transport consultant Bryan G Hall to undertake a transport assessment to assess how the homes would impact nearby roads.

At over 500 pages long, his report includes measurements, surveys and conclusions about traffic in the area.

It found the impact of the extra homes on local roads would not be ‘severe’.

The report concluded:

“The residual cumulative impact of the proposed residential development on the road network cannot be considered to be ‘severe’ and there are therefore no traffic or highways related reasons why planning permission should not be granted for this site.”

Visuals of the Persimmon Home plan for homes on Kingsley Drive.

Visuals of the Persimmon Homes plan for Kingsley Drive.

However, Steve Marshall, owner of surveyors Airedale Surveys and a member of Kingsley Ward Action Group, spent five days reviewing the document, which he called on the council to reject.

Mr Marshall said this was because one of the traffic surveys took place when part of Kingsley Drive was closed due to roadworks.

He also said the report ignored how the extra homes will impact the nearby Empress roundabout.

Disputed surveys

Mr Marshall disputed a claim in the report that Rydal Road, Birstwith Road and Leyland Road, which all have junctions with Kingsley Drive and Knaresborough Road, were not being used as ‘rat runs’.

North Yorkshire County Council, which is in charge of roads in the district, had specifically asked Persimmon to look at the rat run issue in the transport assessment, as well as how fast vehicles were travelling on the three roads.

Persimmon undertook traffic surveys on the roads from July 31 to August 6 2020 but Mr Marshall said this took place when part of Kingsley Drive was closed.

“The bottom half of Kingsley Drive was shut due to road works during the whole period of the survey. This means no one had access to the three surveyed roads along the rat run route.”

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Mr Marshall criticised the report for not taking into account trips generated at two nearby housing developments of 165 homes.

He also said the surveys did not factor in how the homes would impact the Empress roundabout and the Granby Road/Skipton Road junction during rush hour.

Mr Marshall wrote:

“This roundabout causes massive queues at rush hour despite Harrogate Borough Council’s Transport Background Paper of August 2018 saying it is not a problem junction.

“There cannot be any justification for allowing this development as it stands if one of the key assessments and the subject uppermost in the minds of local residents, ie the traffic assessment, is fundamentally flawed.”

Persimmon’s response

In February, representatives from Persimmon, as well as highways consultant Geoff Bowman from Bryan G Hall, fielded questions from residents in Starbeck about the plans, which included the transport assessment.

Residents queried Mr Bowman about the traffic surveys and suggested they did not give an accurate picture of how many cars use the area.

Mr Bowman said:

“There has been very extensive surveys of traffic in the area. There is a perception that we are nasty developers and it’s dead easy to get through planning, but the highways authority are rigorous.”

The Stray Ferret asked Persimmon Homes for a response but we had not received one by the time of publication.